Emmanuel Dennis is one such individual. Club Brugge forward Emmanuel Dennis has named his goals against Manchester United and Real Madrid as the highlights of his 2019-20 campaign. I am fully focused on improving as a player. No room for error,” he recalls. I regret my actions and I think I should have handled the situation better. Dennis failed to control a cross into the box but in doing so manages to wrong foot Thibaut Courtois and bundle the ball into the net. The Nigerian international described it as a period that made him mentally tough and said he was very grateful to have gone through it. Ever since his arrival in Europe, the praise has been pretty resounding for the young Nigerian star. Unfortunately, I have been unlucky with injuries and that has limited my involvement in the national team but I am confident that my time will come. Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis scored twice for Club Brugge and then mugged off Real Madrid with a Cristiano Ronaldo celebration but the Belgian side couldn't keep hold of their lead. Emmanuel Dennis goal Vs Real Madrid: Watch Thibaut Courtois make a blunder to make it 1-0 against Brugge in the Champions League. He really inspired me during his days at Grenada, Udinese, and Watford. His defining moment perhaps came in November 2019, when he scored twice against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the Champions’League group stages. Wir stellen den nigerianischen Angreifer vor, der die „Geißböcke“ zum Klassenerhalt schießen soll. Last updated on 1 October 20191 October 2019.From the section European Football, 'It's Emmanuel Dennis' world, we're just living in it.'. © 2020 PANAFRICANFOOTBALL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The rumour of Emmanuel Dennis being on Sheffield United’s radar was one that didn’t seem to go away during the summer last year. Dennis began his career at Accademia di Abuja, located in Abuja. “It was the first time to see OdionIghalo and it was good to see him as we spoke in the Nigerian way after the match and it was nice meeting a Nigerian brother. Popti is understood to have lost his life after his boat capsized during a boat race in the commercial city of Lagos. Everything happened so fast.”. Real Madrid fought back from 2-0 down to rescue a point but VAR should have cancelled out … 38' Attempt missed. Emmanuel Dennis mimics Cristiano Ronaldo as Real Madrid held by Club Brugge. The striker believes that his time to shine will come for the Super Eagles. How to get into football - the most popular sport in the world, with clubs and facilities throughout the UK. Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis (* 15.November 1997 in Yola), auch bekannt als Emmanuel Bonaventure, ist ein nigerianischer Fußballspieler, der seit Sommer 2017 beim belgischen Erstligisten FC Brügge unter Vertrag steht und seit Januar 2021 vom 1. Dennis made his way to the capital Abuja to play in the Accademia di Abuja before a huge move – both logistically and otherwise – to Zorya Luhansk in Ukraine. A star was born today following a memorable performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League. The Group A match didn’t have the fairy tale ending for Dennis and Club Bruges – Real Madrid came back to earn a point through second-half goals by captain Sergio Ramos and midfielder Casemiro. PROFILE: Emmanuel Dennis, the ‘Nigerian Neymar’ who stunned Real Madrid. Super Eagles striker Emmanuel Dennis netted a brace as Club Brugge forced a 2-2 draw against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in an early Champions League kickoff on Tuesday, October 1. A star was born today following a memorable performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League. Meeting him in person was a great honor for me. Something most children in Yola could not do,” he tells PanAfrican Football. Dennis described his early days in football as “tedious” and said at some point he thought he was never going to make it. Nigerian hitman shines for Brugge in losing cause. His ingenuity has not gone unnoticed as he has been linked with a move to virtually all the big clubs around Europe. Our goal is to enable Africans to tell their own story to the world and to highlight the destinies, trajectories and great moments of the actors and actresses of football on the continent. Dennis has not forgotten his days at Zorya Luhansk in Ukraine. Before you knew it, I was off to Ukraine. Dennis was among the Kwara Football Academy team that was taken to Italy in 2009 for friendly games where they spent two weeks. Check out the great selection of films streaming now on BBC iPlayer, Stream the coverage of MMA Bellator 255 live and exclusive on BBC iPlayer. In the summer, a year after he had moved to the country, Dennis was snapped up by Belgian side Club Brugge for a fee in the region of £1m. Aged 21 years and 320 days, Emmanuel Dennis became the third youngest player to score at least twice in a single game against Real Madrid in the Champions League, after Alexandre Pato in 2009-10 (20y 49d) and Dele Alli in 2017-18 (21y 204d). “Growing up was tough. He represented Nigeria at the All African Games and was also a member of the Nigerian Navy, he also regularly participated in international regattas and  Dennis describes his elder brother as his childhood hero. It’s only a matter of time before we start winning trophies especially in Africa.”. This made me mentally strong and tough. As a boy growing up he made me so proud, representing Nigeria at the All African Games and being an elite athlete. I think he is also highly misunderstood by the media and people in general maybe because he is a strongly opinionated person but when you come from the sought of the tough background like him, then you will understand him better.” Okereke told Pan African Football. Dennis reportedly couldn’t ‘sit in his favourite seat on the team bus’ and he stormed out of the team bus and refused to travel. 30 minutes later, Dennis was tripping over once again in front of goal. But he remains unfazed by all the attention and is fully focused on getting better as a footballer. Nigeria: Emmanuel Dennis, the 'Nigerian Neymar' Who Stunned Real Madrid. “As a black teenager in Ukraine, I must say my time there was very challenging. He miscontrolled a Percy Tau cross in front of goal, which bounced off his shin and rolled agonisingly past a helpless Thibaut Courtois in the Real Madrid net. Emmanuel Dennis scored two goals to give Club Brugge the lead but the Belgian side were ultimately held to a 2-2 draw by Real Madrid with Sergio Ramos … Real Madrid 0, Club Brugge 2. Real Madrid’s miseries in the Champions League continue after Brugge has scored a goal against Los Blancos to make it 1-0 in less than 10 minutes into the game. Dennis was unplayable that day and Manchester United had real difficulty with his imposing display in the Europa League and there is no doubt Dennis has the hallmarks of a top Premier League striker. However, the 23-year-old had to wait till November last year to make his first competitive debut for the Super Eagles in the goalless draw against Sierra Leone. I dream of winning titles and playing a major role with the Super Eagles and I intend of just doing that.”. Without parental care and love. Oct 1, 2019. Auf Leihbasis wechselt Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure vom Club Brügge zum 1. Emmanuel Dennis scored twice in a historic result for Club Brugge. 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Even though Real Madrid have been ass all year, no one would’ve expected anything other than a comfortable win when the Blancos hosted Club Brugge in the Champions League today. Sheffield United given green light to bid for Emmanuel Dennis but Arsenal, Wolves and Newcastle also in hunt "Madrid is a big team, the best in the world, but I was disappointed because I wanted us to win and we drew. Especially in Yola which is a conservative town with few pitches. Following his move to Club Brugge in the Belgian league, Dennis, whose childhood fantasy was being a priest, scored 29 goals in 116 matches while also providing 13 assists along the way. Among other things, he had to deal with was the criticism from the local press especially when he made it clear he wanted to leave for Belgium. Der Stürmer ist seit September 2019 nigerianischer Nationalspieler When Club Brugge visited Real Madrid at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu in 2019, many were expecting the Belgian side tobe thrashed. Goal! In February, Dennis was on target against Manchester United in the Europa League in a game that ended 1-1. Reuters. “After the Madrid match, the media attention was extraordinary and I began to see stories here and there that I was linked to clubs around Europe. Not only did he score a fortuitous double in earning his side a 2-2 draw, he marked the achievements with a move made famous at the Bernabeu - Cristiano Ronaldo's iconic 'Siii' celebration. It all started in the ninth minute when the Nigerian striker put Club Bruges ahead in truly comedic fashion. When Club Brugge visited Real Madrid at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu in 2019, many were expecting the Belgian side tobe thrashed. However, Nigerian striker, Emmanuel Dennis had other ideas as he stunned the Bernabeu faithful with a first-half brace but drew so much praise and attention from the footballing world. “I got abuses, threats, and so on. The 21-year-old who made his debut for Nigeria in an 8-minute cameo against Ukraine in September stunned the Los Blancos faithful with a brace in the 9th and 39th … Meet 21-year-old Dennis - the Club Bruges striker who trolled the 13-time European champions for the full 71 minutes he was on the pitch. Read about our approach to external linking. Great Olympics coach Annor Walker hail his players’... Tanzania slap Yanga SC boss with a five-year ban. FC-Neuzugang Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure: Der Real-Madrid-Schreck, der kein Stürmer sein will. Then 19, he impressed in a trial with the club before going on to score on his debut in July 2016. Real may be going through a difficult period, albeit leading La Liga, but registering a goal past them in their backyard remains a dream for many. You have to always bring your ‘A’ game at every training session, every opportunity, all the time. He was immediately linked with a move away in the winter – to Manchester City among others – but opted to stay in Ukraine for the rest of the campaign. Emmanuel Dennis: The Super Eagles star who stunned Real Madrid. “I still can’t believe that he is gone. Club Brugge told to fine wayward Nigeria striker a hefty 100 000 Euros, “Yola was predominantly Muslim and so we had a lot of restrictions and this made my parents plan on making me move from there to continue my development. 38' Offside, Club Brugge. Club Brugge forward Emmanuel Dennis has revealed why he appeared to troll Real Madrid on Tuesday by copying Cristiano's Ronaldo trademark celebration at the Bernabeu. PanafricanFootball.com is a platform made by Africans for Africans. Get latest scores and headlines sent straight to your phone, sign-up to our newsletter and learn where to find us on online. I have used that strong mental ability so far in my career and when I sit and reflect on my beginnings, I am happy I passed through Ukraine,” he adds. Does that bother me? he then did the iconic Cristiano Ronaldo Celebration in front of Real Madrid Fans. The young forward’s opening goal against the Spanish club was their earliest in a Champions League game at eight minutes nine seconds. Emmanuel Dennis was in complete awe of the Bernabéu when he and his Club Brugge teammates took a tour of the iconic stadium on the eve of their game against Real Madrid. FC Köln. Club teammate David Okereke has described Emmanuel Denis as ‘a hard worker’ who is also a lovely person off and on the pitch. He is currently mourning his elder brother Popti following a tragic boat accident in Lagos. The Super Eagles star made his senior national team debut back in September 2019, coming on for the final eight minutes of a friendly against Ukraine, before coming on for 11 minutes against Brazil a month later. In November, the young Nigerian was fined by Club Brugge and missed a crucial Champions League match to Borussia Dortmund for disciplinary reasons. Born in the border town of Yola, North East of Nigeria, the 23-year-old started his football career on the streets of Ilorin in Kwara state before he joined the Kwara Football Academy when former Super Eagles coach Clemens Westerhof was the director. I am still in pain but then God knows best.”. But if it's not the G.O.A.T, then it is a porcupine. He met his fellow Nigerian striker OdionIghalo who is on loan at United and Dennis expressed happiness meeting the former Watford striker who he considers a role model. Analysis and opinion from our chief football writer. But once again, he managed to find a way past Thibaut Courtois. Who is Pierre Webo, the assistant coach victim of raci... Having noticed that Africa does not have a digital platform entirely dedicated to its football, African football enthusiasts have decided to create PanafricanFootball.com. Okereke also believes that his compatriot is grossly misunderstood especially by the media. I wanted that three points.